22 Jul 2022 – Yinson Ghana, in collaboration with Ghana Education Service (“GES”), has organised the inaugural Yinson Reading and Spelling Bee Competition – a municipal-wide initiative that aims to cultivate the habit of reading and improve the examination results of students in the Ahanta West Municipality.
The competition was participated by a total of 60 students from the Abura, Agona, Apowa, Dixcove and Ewusiejoe educational circuits within the municipality. Participants were drawn from the kindergarten, lower and upper primary, through to the junior high school level.
Each contestant received a certificate of participation, and each school received an appreciation plaque. Yinson also provided over 70 storybooks to participating students and two Samsung tablets containing over 1,000 storybooks for two outstanding students at junior high school level.
The competition was birthed following an observation by the GES that many students in the municipality were not motivated or unable to read at their grade level, directly impacting their results in the Term Examinations, Municipal Common Examinations, Mock Examinations and the Basic Education Certificate Examinations.
Yinson Ghana Corporate Social Responsibility Coordinator, Edward Mensah said that that reading would help students to improve their concentration, develop critical and analytical thinking skills, strengthen their memory, and expand their language and vocabulary – all of which are important for higher education. During the opening ceremony, he said, “This competition will take place annually until the majority of children in this municipality can read and spell correctly, as well compete favourably with schools nationwide.”
The Ahanta West Municipal Director of Education, Mr Mark Adoba Adateke noted a general decline in students’ attitudes towards reading and therefore lauded the competition and commended Yinson for its continued support over the years. He said, “Reading has several advantages. It reduces stress, expands and strengthens vocabularies and improves language and knowledge about the world.” He advised parents and guardians to find strategies to encourage their children to read as this would have a positive effect on their performance in school and during examinations.
Yinson is committed to supporting the provision of quality education for our host communities. Amongst previous initiatives include the building of a library, provision of books for students and phonics training for teachers in the municipality. The Yinson Reading and Spelling Bee Competition is slated to be held again next year.
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